Iran’s ultraconservative Shi’ite cleric Ebrahim Raisi struck a conciliatory note with the United States soon after he was endorsed to be the President in an official ceremony by the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“We will seek to lift the tyrannical sanctions imposed by America,” Raisi said in a televised speech. Some in the US saw it as an indication that he might make more room for the US’ demands in order to rejoin the nuclear deal. But he also assuaged the fears of the Iranian hardliners as he said he will not tie Iran’s economy to the “will of foreigners”. The conflicting messages have made it hard for the US to determine which way Raisi might lead the talks.
Ebrahim Raisi has delayed revival of nuclear deal | ORF (orfonline.org)
